I watched the debate between the leaders of the Federal Parties of Canada last night and came away with a real sense of how our politics are desperately outdated. While it is important to have debates and know what the issues are, this debate must have looked somewhat ridiculous to most of us, including me. What it basically boiled down to was yelling at Stephen Harper for two hours, while he does deserve it this style of dialouge belongs in Parliament not prime time debates. I don't think Canadians like yelling and personal attacks, it puts them off, we're too nice for it. Michael Ignatieff had a real chance to frame arguments here and illustrate the difference between Left and Right but the set up of this debate does not really allow for it. First of all what the hell is Duceppe from the Bloc Quebecois doing here? Since the mission of the Separatists is for a French speaking independent Quebec and none of us in English Canada can vote for you I don't give a flying fig what you have to say! He comes off as a crazy house-party guest who knows he's not going to be invited back, the kind of guest who's going to drink everyone's booze out of the fridge, insult everybody and maybe steal your silverware on the way out after throwing up in a corner somewhere. Duceppe somehow got the first response to Harper and set a bitter accusatory tone for the rest of the night. Jack Layton was intent on attacking Harper and Ignatieff, but with a smile at the end of each segment, I think it just confuses people more, because he is a likable character and these debates seem set up to illustrate personality over policy. I lean Liberal, surprise! the gay guy who went to Art College is not Conservative, go figure? So I was interested in what Igantieff had to say, he made some good points against Harper but I'm afraid he sort of comes off as a John Kerry. The intellect and the ideas are good and a stark contrast to the Bush-era politics of Harper but like Kerry I can't see him winning over a great majority of the people. I truly blame the structure of the debate for this, there are too many candidates, it takes too much time to let them all have their say and it becomes hard to follow or notice a contrast in arguments. Stephen Harper looks like the winner here as he remained calm and collected through the three-man pile up, we are the losers because there are serious issues at play here that Harper has to account for. I would rather a debate between Ignatieff and Harper only, this is the real battle in Canada, the NDP are not going to form a government it's just how the numbers are, the Bloc Quebecois don't care about the rest of Canada so why should we care about them? The real fight is do we want a Canada, led by Harper, follow the failed policies of the American Right-Wing? Please flip on a television to see the Budget battles in the US right now, where do you think Harper gets the idea that we should lower Corporate taxes and place more of a burden on the middle-class? It's not a made in Canada idea my friends, it comes right out of the playbook of the Republican Party. The Evangelical Christian ideology that has crept into Harper's government comes right out of the George W. Bush school of thought too. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to ask Harper himself about any of this?, well you can't, everyone who attends a rally must be thoroughly checked out by the RCMP and Harper's staff, just like in the 2004 Bush campaign. Your questions or criticism are not welcome.
Anyway, I don't think Ignatieff did himself any favours last night, he was at his best towards the end of the second hour when we was not attacking but simply stating policies. That is what Canadians need to know from all parties, policies, not how well they do in the Tuesday Night Fight Club. Oh yeah, almost forgot, where was Elizabeth May from the Green Party? This is another issue I have with whoever runs these debates. It would have been nice if any one of those guys mentioned it at least, it would have been the moment everyone talked about today! The style of these debates has remained unchanged since the year I was born, and my age is on the wrong side of 40! No wonder Canadians have lost interest in their government. Hey do you wanna hear some hot tracks from the late 1960's? Mmmm, not right now thanks,can't, I gave my record player away 15 years ago!
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